De Beers report says U.S. natural diamond spending rises 25% to $4,063

U.S. buyers are spending more on natural diamonds and reaching for larger stones at the same time, a combination that reads less like a soft market and more like a stronger tilt toward the top of the case. De Beers said average U.S. spend on natural diamond jewelry rose 25% to $4,063 in 2025, while the average stone size climbed to 1.86 carats from 1.65 carats in the prior comparison period.

The numbers come from De Beers’ biannual U.S. Diamond Acquisition Study, drawn from responses from 18,500 women ages 18 to 74. De Beers says the latest findings show natural diamonds still rank as the most desired jewelry items, ahead of lab-grown diamonds, other gems and pure gold jewelry. That matters because it suggests the category is not merely surviving on habit. It is still carrying emotional and aspirational weight in the market’s most important buying arena, the United States.

The most revealing detail may be generational. De Beers says Gen Z is already the second-largest generation buying natural diamond jewelry in the U.S., and that their average spend is almost double that of Baby Boomers. If those younger shoppers were truly abandoning natural diamonds, this study would not show an across-the-board rise in spending. Instead, it points to a market in which younger buyers are participating, and doing so at a higher dollar value than older consumers.

For retailers, the message is clear: the strongest inventory story sits in 1.5-carat to 2-carat-plus natural goods, where size, rarity and visual impact justify the ticket. The comparison point is telling. JCK reported that in 2024 the average diamond engagement ring weighed 1.07 carats, with the most popular center stones clustered between 1 and 1.04 carat. Against that baseline, 1.86 carats is not a small shift. It is a move up the ladder, and one that asks jewelers to stock more substantial center stones, tighter matching pairs and settings that can carry weight without overpowering the hand.

De Beers is also drawing a sharper line between natural and synthetic diamonds as lab-grown prices continue to fall. The company says retail prices for synthetic stones are under pressure as competition increases, even as volumes keep rising, and it notes that sales of 3-carat-and-up lab-grown stones fell, suggesting a ceiling for upsizing in that category. That is precisely the kind of split a natural-diamond retailer can use: premium rarity on one side, commodity pricing on the other.

The backdrop remains complicated. De Beers said in its 2025 interim results that rough diamond trading conditions were challenging, with tariff uncertainty in April slowing polished trading in the second quarter, even as consumer demand for diamond jewelry was broadly stable in the first half of 2025. It later said U.S. natural diamonds were added to Tariff Annex III, making them eligible for exemptions under trade agreements. With global rough production expected to decline, De Beers is betting the supply-demand balance will tighten over time, a scenario that strengthens the case for natural diamonds at the top end even as the mass market remains easier to miss.